The month of two bank holidays, May is the time when everything starts happening. The garden leaps into life, events come crowding onto the calendar, and our walk to school becomes green and flowery after months of brown. We've seen friends old and new, cars fast and slow, motorbikes, model trains, ferret racing and art displays. In between all that, Graham has been doing some work at a local horticultural company, and I've been ploughing on with Cafes with Kids and meeting other local writers at a Derby Bloggers' Brunch.
- can now get cereal and juice for himself and Theo for breakfast. Yay! More time in bed!
- asked, "If I do 3 jobs for you can we go to Barnardo's [charity shop] as a reward?" So I got him sorting laundry and tidying up, and next day he got £2 to spend at Barnardo's.
- had a mud fight at Forest School and came home plastered in mud. (Did I really miss getting a photo of that?)
- really enjoyed making a clay pot at Derby Museum (thanks Kath!)
- finally stayed in creche at church by himself! Big achievement!
- says, "My do it!" (I'll do it), "What's that?" and "Mini!!" multiple times a day.
- was ridiculously proud of this painting: "I make it! Mum, Dad, I make it!"
- enjoyed seeing Graham's parents, and kept asking after them when they left. "Where Mam-ma? Where Gan-dad?"
- had a go at potty training but didn't quite manage it this time around.
- a free pushchair to replace the one that fell to bits (Thanks Lucy!)
- seeing the Findern Flower, which apparently only grows around here.
(UPDATE: Graham tells me that the local naturalists have decided it wasn't a Findern Flower, but something else similar. Oh well.)
- getting our car fixed just before the broken part caused a major incident
- finally watching Frozen (should I be thankful for that??)
OK, I realise that's a rather vague title. The original recipe was a chicken rice bowl from the April Waitrose magazine. It looked beautiful and was delicious, but rather bitty - you know those recipes where you have to do five separate things to put the final dish together? Not good for peace of mind when you're scrambling to get dinner with small children underfoot.
But the marinade for the chicken was lovely and simple, and well worth incorporating into other meals. I got mirin for some recipe a while ago, and find it very useful for sploshing into stirfry sauces and things. It keeps for ages in the fridge.
About 500g of boneless chicken pieces
15g fresh root ginger, finely grated
2 tbsp mirin rice wine
2 tbsp soy sauce
Mix the chicken with the other ingredients in a large bowl, and leave to marinate for 20-30 minutes, or presumably longer in the fridge. A couple of options for cooking: the original recipe used halved chicken thigh fillets, and grilled them (4-5 minutes each side; rest under foil for 5 minutes). I had mini breast fillets, and fried them in a small splash of oil. Serve as above, with rice, pickled vegetables, and a little sriracha drizzled over, or however else takes your fancy.
Toby
- can now get cereal and juice for himself and Theo for breakfast. Yay! More time in bed!
- asked, "If I do 3 jobs for you can we go to Barnardo's [charity shop] as a reward?" So I got him sorting laundry and tidying up, and next day he got £2 to spend at Barnardo's.
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| Being signalmen at The Old Silk Mill |
- really enjoyed making a clay pot at Derby Museum (thanks Kath!)
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| Adding to the mural at Willington Art Festival |
Theo
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| High five! |
- finally stayed in creche at church by himself! Big achievement!
- says, "My do it!" (I'll do it), "What's that?" and "Mini!!" multiple times a day.
- was ridiculously proud of this painting: "I make it! Mum, Dad, I make it!"
- enjoyed seeing Graham's parents, and kept asking after them when they left. "Where Mam-ma? Where Gan-dad?"
 |
| Helping Grandma wash up |
- had a go at potty training but didn't quite manage it this time around.
Thankful for:
- a free pushchair to replace the one that fell to bits (Thanks Lucy!)
- seeing the Findern Flower, which apparently only grows around here.
(UPDATE: Graham tells me that the local naturalists have decided it wasn't a Findern Flower, but something else similar. Oh well.)
- getting our car fixed just before the broken part caused a major incident
- finally watching Frozen (should I be thankful for that??)
Recipe of the Month - Asian chicken
OK, I realise that's a rather vague title. The original recipe was a chicken rice bowl from the April Waitrose magazine. It looked beautiful and was delicious, but rather bitty - you know those recipes where you have to do five separate things to put the final dish together? Not good for peace of mind when you're scrambling to get dinner with small children underfoot.
But the marinade for the chicken was lovely and simple, and well worth incorporating into other meals. I got mirin for some recipe a while ago, and find it very useful for sploshing into stirfry sauces and things. It keeps for ages in the fridge.
About 500g of boneless chicken pieces
15g fresh root ginger, finely grated
2 tbsp mirin rice wine
2 tbsp soy sauce
Mix the chicken with the other ingredients in a large bowl, and leave to marinate for 20-30 minutes, or presumably longer in the fridge. A couple of options for cooking: the original recipe used halved chicken thigh fillets, and grilled them (4-5 minutes each side; rest under foil for 5 minutes). I had mini breast fillets, and fried them in a small splash of oil. Serve as above, with rice, pickled vegetables, and a little sriracha drizzled over, or however else takes your fancy.
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